Submitting ECE M.S. Graduation Paperwork

Any ECE student that is almost done with the coursework and capstone requirements, will need to read the information on this page and file for graduation by submitting a packet of 3 specific forms.

  • The paperwork will need to be submitted during beginning of the quarter that an ECE student intends on graduating. This paperwork will be submitted to your M.S. Advisor by the deadline listed below. 

On behalf of the ECE Student Affairs Unit, congratulations on this HUGE achievement! You should be very proud 🎉 

Graduation Paperwork Process (Advancing to M.S. Candidacy + Final Report Form)

Spring 2024 Graduating M.S. Students need to submit the 3 forms by the

Friday, April 5, 2024 deadline

**Spring 2024 graduates, please DO NOT waitlist and/or enroll in Summer 2024 and/or Fall 2024 otherwise your degree CANNOT be awarded. If you waitlist in courses for Summer 2024 and/or Fall 2024, you might automatically be enrolled by the WebReg system, which will trigger the billing. You will be expected to pay for the fees unless you submit a withdrawal form by the first day of instruction based on the UCSD schedule of refunds. The degree conferral system and the billing system are separate and do not communicate. It is a student's responsibility to monitor their record and make sure that they do not waitlist and enroll in courses** 

ECE M.S. advisors are working very hard during this heavy volume period. Please refrain from sending duplicate emails; specifically, about a confirmation of receipt. If you submitted graduation paperwork already, we will contact you individually sometime very soon and inform you if there are any issues. We truly thank you for your patience and understanding during this busy time. 

If you plan on completing coursework for your M.S. degree and intend to graduate in the current quarter but are waiting to pass the M.S. Comprehensive Exam or defend a thesis, please submit the graduation paperwork by the deadline. DO NOT wait for your comprehensive exam or thesis result to submit graduation paperwork. If you submit it after the due date, it will be considered late and if it is late, we need to request an exception for the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) / the Registrar's Office to accept it. 
 
You do not need to resubmit your graduation paperwork if you previously submitted it to your primary advisor and canceled it by the week 10 deadline, indicating that you plan on graduating in a future quarter.
 

Below are the items that your M.S. Advisor will need from you by the deadline:

1. Degree Audit in PDF format (uAchieve Form) 

  • This form is the Advancement to M.S. Candidacy application. 
    • If you would only like to advance to M.S. Candidacy, for 100% full-time CPT purposes the following quarter, please contact your M.S. Advisor for assistance. 
    • You will need to complete steps 1 and 2 the quarter before your full-time CPT. Step 3 will be completed the quarter that you would like to graduate. 
  • Students need to advance the quarter that they were last enrolled in courses. 
  • You can find this on TritonLink. To find the form go to TritonLink - Degree Audit - Request a New Audit - Click to View Available Options - Format (PDF) - Run Declared Programs (see below).
  • All letter grades and S/U grades must be populating correctly. If there is a non-reported grade (NR) on your audit, please do not submit the paperwork until it is reflected properly. 
  • If the degree audit is correct, please download/save the PDF format with the following information as the title: 
    • Last Name, First Name_PID_ECE
    • The UCSD Registrar's Office will not accept the HTML version of this document so please save it as a PDF and they require the naming to be in this specific layout. 
    • Students DO NOT need to sign this document just save it as a PDF. 
  • ***IMPORTANT*** If your degree audit is incorrect, or courses are not populating correctly, please complete the Google Form (by the listed deadline) to inform ECE of the changes that need to be made. Your M.S. Advisor will make these changes and contact you when your audit is updated.
  • If you have not gotten off of the waitlist for a class that you need to graduate and your audit is not green/blue, please contact your M.S. Advisor. 
  • It is okay that your audit states FINAL DEGREE AUDIT ON HOLD. This will be removed after your final quarter grades are posted.
  • If you have any course substitutions, please make sure that they are reflected properly, if not fill out the Google Form. 
  • M.S. Advisor will fill out the form, via Docusign, on your behalf. 
  • Students do not need to sign off on this form via DocuSign.  
  • If you would only like to advance to M.S. candidacy, and not graduate, please contact your M.S. Advisor. 

2. Completed Degree Planner (please use the degree planner for the year you started)

  • You can scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the tab of old degree planners.
  • If you have any approved course substitutions, please list the approved class in the proper section of the planner and mark an asterisk (*) next to the approved class. This will allow M.S. Advisor to look into your approved course substitution. 
    • Example: ECE 272A*
  • Please make sure it is filled out with all of the courses you have taken. Save as a PDF with the title: 
    • Last Name, First Name_PID_Planner
  • ***MDS students*** please indicate which major area you chose for your additional units section. You can either highlight the major area or circle it.

3. Final Report Form

  • Please fill out this Final Report Form Google Form by the listed deadline.
  • M.S. Advisor will fill out the form, via Docusign, on your behalf with the information you provide. 
  • The Google form will be used to confer your degree. 
  • Students do not need to sign off on this form via DocuSign.  

Please send your PDF Degree Planner and your PDF Degree Audit to your M.S. Advisor via email.

If your course schedule changes, you do not need to resubmit the audit but please make sure that your course counts towards the degree since we will be checking at the end of the quarter to confirm that all requirements have been satisfied.

If you decide not to graduate and are within your 6 quarter time limit, you can move your graduation paperwork to another quarter by emailing your M.S. Advisor by Friday of Week 10 of the quarter that you intended on graduating initially and submitted paperwork for.

Still have questions?

Please contact your M.S. Advisor. Please DO NOT contact the ECE Curriculum Advisors about submitting graduation paperwork. 

Final Quarter Filing Fee Information

Students that are finished with all of their M.S. coursework but need to fulfill their capstone requirement (defend thesis) have the option of going on filing fee status during their final quarter. You MUST be fulfilling your capstone requirement during your final quarter to go on filing fee status. Filing fee status is limited to one quarter only, if unable to complete degree during the filing fee status, you must register in courses during the following quarter while still abiding by the ECE 6 quarter time limit.

Students that would like to be on this status need to submit their Degree Audit in PDF format to Advance to Master's Candidacy during the quarter that they were last enrolled in courses. For example, if a student would like to do a filing fee in the Spring Quarter, they would need to advance in Winter Quarter. 

Students who are on approved filing fee status will need to pay $188 but do not need to enroll in courses/pay for tuition and fees. *the fee is subject to change depending on the Registrar's Office rates.

  • Your M.S. Advisor will need to submit a General Petition form, on your behalf, for the filing fee. Please contact them for more information on how to complete this step. 
  • If you live on campus and would like to do a filing fee during your final quarter, please contact the UCSD Housing Community that you live in for more information.  
  • You must contact Student Health Services regarding eligibility for voluntary student health insurance.
  • The fee will be posted by the UCSD Cashier's Office via your TritonLink account after the thesis exam score is released. 
  • Plan 1 (thesis) students will also get billed an additional $25 thesis processing fee. 
    • ***These fees are subject to change in the future***
  • The M.S. degree will be awarded once the capstone requirement has been passed and is completely fulfilled. The date issued on your degree will be the last day of the quarter that you passed your capstone requirement.

International student Information:

  • You must also submit the final quarter Reduced Course Load form for filing fee via iPortal. 
  • If you submitted an OPT application, and your start date already began, you can begin working while on filing fee status. 
  • You will NOT be eligible for off campus employment, including CPT (F-1 students) or Academic Training (J-1 students).
  • You must submit your iPortal request by end of the 2nd week of the quarter.
  • You must apply for Optional Practical Training (F-1 students) or Academic Training (J-1 students) by the end of the 2nd week of the quarter.
  • If you submitted an OPT application, and your start date already began, you can begin working while on filing fee status. 
    • Please work with your employer and inform them that you have a pending capstone requirement.

Still have questions?

Additional Graduation Information

Processing Time for Degree Conferral to be Reflected onto TritonLink
  • There are several departments involved when checking your degree requirements and that need to process your graduation paperwork. This takes some time.
  • Keep in mind that these departments are processing graduate student degrees from the ENTIRE campus, not just ECE. Therefore, it can take about 7-10 weeks after the quarter has ended before you see that your degree is conferred via TritonLink/Academic History. 
  • If you would like an ECE Departmental completion letter for employment purposes, please see the blue tab below labeled "Requesting M.S. Degree Completion Letter" for instructions. 
  • Your patience is truly appreciated. 

Still have questions?

Proof of Completion Request Information

Requesting M.S. Degree Completion Letter
  • Once your degree paperwork is processed by the GEPA, a completion letter from the Dean of the GEPA will be emailed to you in PDF format from a no-reply email account.
    • This could take 7-10 weeks after the quarter concludes.  
  • If you would like to obtain an M.S. degree completion letter from the ECE Dept, please contact your M.S. Advisor, via email, after your final quarter grades are released and posted on Academic History.
    • This letter will include your name, PID, major name, the dates of your program and when your degree was/will be conferred. 
    • Unfortunately, the Registrar's Office does not provide this, only the ECE Dept.
      • The ECE Dept. cannot provide a UCSD seal on the completion letter. 

Still have questions? 

 

Diploma Shipping & Major Name Information
  • The M.S. degree that you have earned will list the first and last name corresponding to your TritonLink Account.
  • The major name that is printed on the diploma will match what is listed on Academic History: Electrical Engineering (Specialization/Track/Major)
  • The capstone requirement that you chose will not be reflected onto the diploma. 
  • It will take about 3-6 months to receive the diploma in the mail after the quarter has concluded. It will be sent to the permanent address that is listed on TritonLink. If you would like to change your permanent address, please do so by editing it via TritonLink prior to finals week of your graduating quarter. If this time-line has passed, please email Registrar-AcademicRecords@ad.ucsd.edu to see if your diploma address information has already been sent to the printing company.
    • International addresses will take about 4-6 months.
    • Domestic addresses will take about 3-4 months. 

Still have questions?

Legal Name vs. Preferred Name on UCSD Diploma + Completion Letters
  • The UCSD Diploma and GEPA Dean’s letter of completion automatically pulls the student’s preferred name.

  •  If you need to have your legal name on the diploma and Dean’s letter, you need to remove your preferred name from TritonLink as soon as possible (unless you can work with your lawyer to provide legal documentation to establish a relationship between the preferred name on the letter and the legal name on the immigration/VISA documents - ISPO confirmed you can do this). 

  • You can remove your preferred name using the Social Identities Tool (login required). Once the preferred name is removed, The Registrar's Office and GEPA will use your legal name.

  • Any questions about the Social Identities tool or preferred name should be directed to The Registrar’s Office. Additional information is found at the Blink website link.

Still have questions? 

Outstanding Fee Payments
  • If you have any fees from the university, such as a filing fee, thesis fee, or tuition/fees you are expected to pay them by the billing deadline. 
  • You should receive an email from the Student Financial Solutions to pay the fees but please be sure to check your TritonLink account for the due date details.
  • Failure to pay your fees by the billing due date will result in a late fee. 

Still have questions?

UCSD Commencement Ceremony

UCSD only offers a Commencement Ceremony in June. Graduate Students can participate in the Jacobs School of Engineering Master's Student Ceremony and/or the All-Campus Commencement.

  • If you would like to participate in UCSD's Jacobs School of Engineering Master's Student Ceremony, please visit JSOE website to register. This is a smaller ceremony that announces each graduate and student will walk across the stage. 
  • If you would like to participate in UCSD's All-Campus Ceremony, please visit this webpage to register. 
  • Any inquires about purchasing UCSD Regalia (cap, gown, tassel and stoles) please visit the Josten's webpage. 

Still have questions?

Ordering Official Transcripts

UCSD Alumni who would like to request official electronic and/or mailed transcripts must do so by following the steps outlined on the Transcript/Verification Department's website

Still have questions? 

 Ordering A Replacement Diploma

UCSD Alumni who would like to request a replacement diploma must do so by following the steps outlined on the Academic Records website. 

Your diploma will be mailed to the permanent address listed on your TritonLink within 3-6 months of your conferral date (last day of the quarter). If your degree has been conferred via Academic History, you should be able to order electronic transcripts for your records. 

  • The package cannot be tracked. 
  • Academic Records can answer your questions about when your diploma will be ordered and/or if you have questions about updating your Permanent Mailing Address via TritonLink. 
  • If you would like to order a replacement diploma, please complete this form.
  • You are eligible for the one-time diploma fee waiver, so you may check the box marked “Diploma Fee Waiver.” Standard delivery takes 6-8 weeks, does not include tracking, and is included free of charge with your order
  • Please note, replacement diplomas are printed with reissue text at the bottom of the diploma.
  • If you are not including payment with your order, you may email the form to Registrar-AcademicRecords@ad.ucsd.edu. If you are including payment with your order, you will need to mail or bring in the form and payment to the Office of the Registrar. Payment must be either a check or money order made payable to “UC Regents.”
  • The Registrar's Office also offers a rush shipping option. Rush delivery takes 6-8 business days and does come with tracking. There is a charge for rush shipping,  $32 (domestic address) or $77 (international address).

Still have questions? 

UCSD Email Account for Alumni

Any UCSD Alumni (B.S., M.S. and/or Ph.D.) can request an emailing forwarding service to keep using the @ucsd.edu email account. For more information, please check out the Alumni Email for Life webpage.

Still have questions? 

  • Contact UCSD Alumni Support here. 

 International Student Requests

 Expediting Degree Paperwork For H-1B Visa Application
  • If you are graduating in Winter or Spring Quarter and would like your degree paperwork expedited for H-1B visa purposes, please fill out this Google Form by the deadline that is on the form. If you fill out the form, you will be placed on the "rush list" so that your degree can be expedited. 
  • Fall graduating students do not need to complete this form since they will receive their letter from the GEPA in February. 
  • The GEPA will be emailing you a letter of completion in PDF format 3-6 weeks after the quarter has ended.
    • The estimated timeline for the students that submitted the Google Form is towards the end of March for Winter graduating students or end of June for Spring graduating students. 
  • This email is sent from noreply@noreply.ucsd.edu. Please check your spam folder. 
  • The Registrar starts accepting graduation paperwork from GEPA at the end of the quarter (when grades are available on TritonLink, per the university’s calendar); GEPA will also ask them to rush the processing of the paperwork at that time so you can order an electronic copy of your official transcript with the M.S. degree listed on it, if that helps with your application.
  • The GEPA CANNOT stamp your letter with a university seal. 
  • The Registrar's Office DOES NOT send out completion letters.
  • If you would like an ECE Dept. completion letter, please email your M.S. Advisor after your grades are finalized on TritonLink. Allow 3-5 business days for a response.
Still have questions?  
Requesting Family Invitation Letter For Commencement

If you would like to request a family invitation letter for commencement, please contact your M.S. Advisor and provide the following information:

  • Your full legal name, PID, and preferred pronouns
  • Full legal names of the people you're inviting
  • Relationship to each person (mother, father, brother, sister, etc.)
  • Dates of birth for the people you're inviting
  • Country the guests will be coming from
  • Approximate duration of stay
  • Approximate timing of stay
  • Reason for stay

Once your M.S. Advisor receives this information they will email you a PDF copy of the invitation letter within 3-5 business days. 

Still have questions? 

OPT Application Information

UCSD Information & Resources

  • If you would like to stay in the United States after graduation, you will need to apply for a 12 month OPT work authorization and obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) card through the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). 
  • For more information on the OPT iPortal request form please visit ISPOs website.

Still have questions? 

USCIS Information & Resources

  • Please visit USCIS website for more information about the OPT application process.
Alumni Only - Skills Verification Letter for Green Card Application (Perm Residency)

If you are applying for a green card and need a skills verification letter, please follow the following instructions: 

  • Contact your M.S. Advisor via email. Please do not contact the ECE Curriculum Advisors. 
  • List your full legal name, PID, preferred pronouns, dates of graduate program and major
  • List the course, title and topics that you would like verified by using the following format:
    • ECE 143 Programming for Data Analysis: 
      • Python, SQL, Git, Machine Learning
    • ECE 227 Big Network Data: 
      • Python, Machine Learning, AI, Algorithms, Data structures, Git
    • ECE 208 Computational Evolutionary Biology: 
      • Python, Machine Learning, AI, Algorithms, Data structures
  • Note that courses in which a "D", "F", "U" and/or "W" grade was earned cannot be verified. 
  • UCSD CPT internship courses (ECE 298), TAship courses (ECE 501), and research courses (ECE 299) cannot be verified.  
  • Allow 3-4 weeks for the skills verification letter to be approved by the ECE Vice Chair and sent to you via email

Still have questions? 

Please contact your M.S. Advisor